Introduction
Although the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe occurred nearly 500 years ago, Our Lord still desires that we continue coming to Our Lady of Guadalupe because He desires to speak to us through her as Mother of Divine Grace.
The situation today is no less urgent than it was at the time of the first apparitions. Our culture is plummeting at an alarming rate into self-annihilation. The situation in our own country is very frightening as the attacks on human life and on the family grow ever more violent and our society is unstable because we have lost our moorings. In other parts of the world, there are terrible conflicts, as there were during the time of Our Lady’s apparitions. We realize that Our Lady’s message is as critical today as it was then.
At the same time, Our Lady’s remedy for the crisis of that time remains our own remedy today. She instructed that a “sacred little house”—that is, a chapel—be built and, knowing that it would be accomplished through Divine Providence, she prepared for her miraculous image on the Tilma of Saint Juan Diego to be set in a place of prominence inside the chapel so that she might draw all who gaze upon that image to her Divine Son. The description of the hanging of the Tilma in her chapel deserves to be recounted.
And after some time, the Reverend Bishop moved the beloved Image of the Heavenly Maiden to the main church. He [the Bishop] took it from his palace, from his chapel where it had been, so that everyone could see and admire Her precious Image. And absolutely everyone, the entire city, without exception, trembled when they went to behold, to admire Her precious Image. They came to acknowledge it as something divine. They came to offer Her their prayers. They marveled at the miraculous way it had appeared since absolutely no one on Earth had painted Her beloved Image. (Nican Mopohua, no. 212-218)
Our Lady is calling us to be her messengers today, just as she called Saint Juan Diego to be her heroic messenger 500 years ago. And just as the people were awestruck then, so too must people today tremble when they behold and admire her precious image. People must come to offer her their prayers. People need to marvel at the miraculous way her image appeared on the Tilma! We can help them do so through the union of our hearts with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Build a sacred little house in your heart. Contemplate her maternal gaze. Let her summon you on pilgrimage to a holy place where you will truly encounter her Divine Son in the Sacraments of Penance and Eucharist. Your example of living a holy life by supernatural grace will naturally lead others to Our Lady, who will draw them to the only source of their salvation in Jesus Christ, truly present in their midst.
I invite you to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe at La Crosse, Wisconsin, where you can see her sacred image—a magnificent mosaic of the miraculous image on the Tilma created by Vatican Mosaic artists—which draws the attention of pilgrims to the altar of sacrifice on which Our Lord makes present His sacrifice and to the tabernacle in which He remains for us as the Bread from Heaven. The crucifix which hangs above the altar of sacrifice, with the image of Our Lady as its background, reminds us that God the Son became incarnate in the Virgin Mary’s womb, in order to offer His life for us on Calvary and to make that Sacrifice ever present for us, until He returns in glory at the end of time. The Virgin of Guadalupe accomplishes her mission in her “sacred little house” in which her Divine Son dwells in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
You can see this image for yourself by making a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, the final day of the consecration. On the Solemnity of Our Lady of Guadalupe, during the Holy Mass at 12:15 pm Central Time, I will be making the Official Act of Consecration to her with the Nine-Month Novena Prayer. I hope you can come on pilgrimage to the Shrine and make your consecration with me. The Shrine has been approved by the Vatican to be an official place of pilgrimage by affiliating the Shrine with the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome and with the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Because of this affiliation, when you make your pilgrimage, you receive the same graces and blessings as if you had gone to Rome or Mexico on pilgrimage to those Basilicas.
Until that time, I encourage you to watch the video reflection for this month and then please join me in praying the Official Novena Prayer. If you do not have an Official Novena Prayer Card, one can be ordered or downloaded at the links below.
